NWPSC May Newsletter
King County, WA sent this bulletin at 05/05/2014 04:18 PM PDT
May 2014
Legislation
California Pharmaceutical Take-Back Bill Dies
After mounting opposition, the author of SB 1014 amended the bill to remove the provisions that require the producer of covered pharmaceuticals to provide collection and disposal of the medicines and instead require CalRecycle to develop guidelines for home-generated pharmaceutical waste collection programs.
TSCA Deform: Chemicals in Commerce Act
Draft legislation in the US House intended to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Chemicals in Commerce Act, would roll back existing federal legal authority over toxic chemicals in products. The Chemicals in Commerce bill would decrease EPA's authority to issue Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) for chemical substances in articles and neither the EPA nor state agencies would be allowed to regulate the disposal of products containing priority toxic chemicals under TSCA. This bill could mean that state product stewardship laws could be preempted or severely curtailed. See the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families fact sheet (PDF) for more information.
Paint Stewardship Bill Passes in Colorado
Colorado became the 8th state to pass paint stewardship legislation (which awaits the Governor's signature); three states have paint stewardship programs in operation and four other states plan to begin in 2014-2015.
Product Stewardship in the News
Electronics Recycling Survey by e-Stewards
e-Stewards is conducting a survey on electronics recycling and product stewardship. Respondents will be entered in a drawing for a refurbished iPad2. The e-Stewards certification program for electronics recyclers is a rigorous, internationally compliant certification program that assures full conformance to a comprehensive suite of electronics recycling best practices.
Product Stewardship Programs
E-Cycle Washington 5-year Update
The Washington State Department of Ecology has posted the Washington Materials Management & Financing Authority (WMMFA)’s 5-year update to the Standard Plan for Recycling Covered Electronic Products in Washington State (PDF). The law requires recycling plans to be updated every five years to reflect any changes in the assessment of charges to manufacturers for program costs, changes to the level of services provided by the plan, changes to the public outreach plan and more. The 5-year update was reviewed and approved by Ecology.
Ontario Medications and Sharps Stewardship: 2013 Annual Report
The Health Products Stewardship Association released the first Annual Report for the Ontario Sharps Collection Program and the Ontario Medications Return Program (PDF). According to the HPSA press release, a total of "543 tonnes of medications and sharps generated in households in Ontario were returned by the public for secure and responsible disposal." (via UPSTREAM)
Upcoming Events
- Washington State Recycling Association (WSRA) Conference: May 4-7
- Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) Conference: May 5-8
- Carpet Stewardship Dialog Meeting: May 14-15
- Product Stewardship for Rural Areas – Lessons Learned (PSI webinar): May 21
- Battery Stewardship Dialog Meeting: June 11-12
The Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) is a coalition of government agencies in Washington and Oregon working on solid waste, recycling, resource conservation, environmental protection, public health and other issues. Together with non-government agencies, businesses and individuals, we form a network that supports product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and programs. For more information, contact info@productstewardship.net or visit us at www.ProductStewardship.net.
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.
The Northwest Product Stewardship Council (NWPSC) is a coalition of government agencies in Washington and Oregon working on solid waste, recycling, resource conservation, environmental protection, public health and other issues. Together with non-government agencies, businesses and individuals, we form a network that supports product stewardship and extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and programs. For more information, contact info@productstewardship.net or visit us at www.ProductStewardship.net.
Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.
